Hi,
I have a fedora box that I run as an XDMCP server, this allows users to log on and use it as a thinclient. However is there anyway of doing this or something simular in Solaris 10?, preferbly without the need for SunRays. Could you please write a newbies or supply a newbies guide howto if there is a way, I'm hopeless with Solaris configuration at the moment, still learning.
Many Thanks Rob
> I have a fedora box that I run as an XDMCP server,
> this allows users to log on and use it as a
> thinclient.
You mean that you can use thinclients to connect to the fedora box?
> However is there anyway of doing this or
> something simular in Solaris 10?, preferbly without
> the need for SunRays. Could you please write a
> newbies or supply a newbies guide howto if there is a
> way, I'm hopeless with Solaris configuration at the
> moment, still learning.
By default Solaris 10 runs an XDMCP server within dtlogin, which is normally started at boot. All you should have to do is point any XDMCP client at it and connect.
What have you tried and what is failing for you?
--
Darren
sorry, most probably my bad for putting this in the Solaris 10 folder, Im using Solaris 9, sorry for any confusion.
I use www.linuxtsc.org to connect to my Fedora box, and I may consider making etherboot diskless clients for it. But can I do the same thing in Solaris.
I have tried connecting to my Solaris 9 box using LinuxTSC and all I recieve is a blank black screen with the solaris 9 style hourglass. This can be moved with the mouse. No Login screen of any kind loads. After about 10 mins I accepted it wasn't working and shut the connection. Remember I only want software solutions at this stage to test it ;-).
Rob
null
It often helps to use the Solaris machine as a font server also. How you do that depends on the XDMCP client you're using.
For instance on cygwin/unix I'd do something like this:
X -query <host> -fp tcp/<host>:7100
So that the font path (fp) is set to the remote host's font server. That can sometimes help.
--
Darren
I've been trying to connect to UNIX machines on campus that are running Solaris 9. I'm using X11 1.1 in Mac OS X 10.4.7.
First, I know I've got a firewall in place. What port(s), if any, do I need to be sure to have open?
Second, what are the srpecific commands I'd need to use to be able to see the CDE GUI on my Mac, if it's possible? Essentially, what would I need to type in on the command line? A brief explanation of the options would be nice, too. Being an engineer and in charge of IT, I think I can handle technical descriptions.
Thanks for any help you can give me. :)
--Raf
A couple of comments here (my opinion... others may differ).
1. XDMCP is not exactly a thin client solution. XDMCP uses a lot of bandwidth to transfer those screens (vs. a SSH connection). Because of all the data transmitted over the connection, XDMCP is typically very slow. On the the other hand, SSH is fast, at least it feels as fast as a local connection.
2. XDMCP is insecure, as all the data (i.e. the login username and password) is transmitted UNENCRYPTED over the connection. SSH encrypts the data before transmitting the packets.
A better solution than XDMCP is to run a X windows server remotely (Xming on Windows XP, for example) and connect via a Secure Shell (SSH) client (PuTTY for Windows XP, for example). SSH client-side has a couple of commandline switches (-X and -Y) to tunnel X windows apps over the SSH connection. The sshd_config file will need to be modified to allow X11Forwarding over the Solaris sshd service.
The Secure Shell Daemon (sshd) should be running by default on your Solaris 9, as the ps -ef command should show. Until you modify sshd_config, and stop/restart the sshd service, you'll only be able to make a console connection.
**** SECURITY NOTE:
Both XDMCP and SSH will allow a logged in remote user to su - and gain root access, unless you disable it.
*********************
If Windows XP is your client, PuTTY makes the client-side SSH painles. If Linux is your client, take a look at KSSH (a GUI SSh client app made to be used under KDE--I've never tried it under GNOME). Under Linux, I just use the commandline ssh to make a connection.
The syntas is: $ ssh -X username@remote.server.ip.address
I always use the -X switch, so I have the option to run an X windows app on the server.
Xming is a good open source X windows server for Windows XP. With Linux, you already have an X windows server installed. Run GNOME or KDE and the remote X windows app should come right up on your screen when you execute it from the ssh console prompt.
The ONLY reason I can see to run XDMCP, is when you absolutely must run the server-side desktop manager (CDE or GNOME). Considering you can run individual X apps remotely from ssh, and you can manage a server remotely from ssh, there is almost no need to ever take the security risks of XDMCP, not to mention the pitiful performance when compared to ssh.
Here are some links to help you find out more:
http://www.openssh.org/faq.html#2.7
http://marc2.theaimsgroup.com/?l=secure-shell&m=114563566108357&w=2
http://marc2.theaimsgroup.com/?l=secure-shell&m=114563432018660&w=2
Google on: Solaris 9 sshd_config X11 tunneling(all in the same search)
John
